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 investor-state disputes
Reko Diq: the other side
| 5-February-2013
Earlier last month, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry declared null and void the Reko Diq gold and copper mine agreement, the Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJVA), with Tethyan Copper Company (TCC).
The Reko Diq Saga
| 5-February-2013
The Supreme Court recently declared void and illegal a mining deal for the Reko Diq copper project signed 20 years ago between the Balochistan government and international mining companies.
Korea-Belgium investment agreement, a hole for investor lawsuits
| 1-February-2013
The Korean government is fighting a ISD suit by US based private equity fund Lone Star. The ISD suit was established through Lone Star’s paper company in Belgium and initiated through an investment treaty between Belgium and South Korea.
Lone Star’s arbitration claim was possible because of a deficient agreement
| 1-February-2013
The article discusses a blunder in the Korean government in failing to include an anti-paper company clause that is now allowing companies to use the Belgium investment treaty as a backdoor for ISD suits. 
Hace unos dias, el CIADI dió a conocer el fallo emitido el pasado 12 de diciembre del 2012 en relación a la demanda interpuesta por la empresa minera canadiense Vanessa Ventures contra Venezuela en el año 2004. En su decisión, los tres árbitros del tribunal arbitral del CIADI desestiman la demanda por 1.045 millones de US$ presentada por la empresa canadiense contra Venezuela. 
In a significant development, the Government of India has ordered a freeze of all Bilateral Investment Protection Agreements (BIPA) negotiations till a review of the model text of BIPA is carried out and completed. This follows a spate of show cause notices on the Government by foreign companies seeking to recover their investments under the agreement.
Lone Star files investor state dispute lawsuit against S. Korea
| 21-January-2013
The finance ministry said that the South Korean government rejects Lone Star’s accusations regarding this dispute, noting that the government has been preparing for trial. It added that the government will pay full attention to the arbitration proceedings and will aggressively defend its self against Lone Star’s unjust accusations.
Supreme Court trashes Reko Diq agreement
| 16-January-2013
It is wonderful that the stance of the government of Balochistan has been upheld by the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan. Decision given on 7th January, 2013 by the SC has declared the agreement on Reko Diq signed on July 23, 1993 as void and in conflict with the laws of the country. Tethyan Copper Company Pvt Limited (TCC) also lost its case in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on December 13, 2012.
Red Electrica seeks arbitration over Bolivia nationalisation
| 10-January-2013
Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica said on Tuesday it had begun to seek World Bank arbitration over Bolivia’s expropriation of its transmission business TDE. 
The changing dynamic of the global economy has led to a transformation in the role of developing countries as both capital importing and exporting States. There is an urgent need to redefine the global BIT regime to reflect this changing paradigm. 
After 3 years and 8 months, Zimbabwe has admitted financial liability on illegal farm invasions and forthwith issued a statement that they are ceasing all farm invasions on properties protected by bilateral investment treaties.
Investment protection clause: India can’t do a Maldives without paying a price
| 24-December-2012
Recent disputes, including the GMR-Maldives government row and the clash between foreign telecom firms Telenor, Sistema, Etisalat and Vodafone and the Indian government, have exposed India’s vulnerable position in investment agreements. While the foreign telecom companies can use a potent weapon - the ’investment protection’ clause in bilateral treaties - against India, GMR cannot do the same with Maldives.
ICSID: Ecuador Unlawfully Seized U.S. Firm’s Oil Investments
| 23-December-2012
The World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes has handed down a ruling against the Ecuadorian government, finding that it “unlawfully expropriated” U.S. firm Burlington Resources’ investments in two oil blocks. 
Al Jazeera ask if the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations have rendered democratic decision-making irrelevant. 
Developing countries that have signed BITs should start a process of review and eventual renegotiation or denunciation, writes Carlos Correa
The evils of bilateral investment treaties – Analysis
| 6-December-2012
While multinational corporations such as Philip Morris dispose of the financial means to pay for elite law advice, developing countries don’t.
Treaty shopping: How Philip-Morris cherry-picked worst case BITs
| 3-December-2012
Australia’s new stance against investor-State arbitration may do nothing to prevent claims being brought in the future.
Argentina faces 65bn dollars in claims; plans to abandon international litigations court
| 29-November-2012
Argentina faces 42 claims at the World Bank’s ICSID in which the plaintiffs are demanding compensations for almost 65 billion dollars, revealed Eduardo Barcesat legal advisor to the Argentine Treasury and one of several lawyers who has defended the country in those litigations.
PM asked to facilitate out of court resolution
| 26-November-2012
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources (MoPNR) has written a letter to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to persuade the Balochistan government to settle the Reko Diq issue out of court, fearing a penalty of Rs39 billion by the International Centre for Settlement Investment Disputes (ICSID).
US firm to launch NAFTA challenge to Quebec fracking ban
| 16-November-2012
A US-incorporated energy firm, Lone Pine Resources Inc., is taking on Quebec’s stand against fracking, saying it violates the North American free-trade agreement and demanding more than $250-million in compensation. |
L’accord entre l’Union Européenne et l’Inde menace l’accès aux traitements en Afrique du Nord et au Moyen-Orient
| 12-April-2013
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